


The Chronicles of Cinder

by Aluthor



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-29 04:54:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19822960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aluthor/pseuds/Aluthor





	1. Routine (Prologue)

Quietly, Cindi played with Ender’s overly decorative knife. A sense of stillness had taken over the old - and very small - classroom, for the first time in a month. 

Turned it over in her hands. Spun it against her finger. Tapped it against her leg.

Just, thinking. Staring at her own hands.

One never really adjusted to the bustle of living with Daevas. Especially as a captive. 

Demons wandered in and out, some asked where she was to be taken and others would take them outside to tell them; they were afraid she’d listen in. 

It didn’t matter. She already knew; she’d go wherever Cindi was. 

The pyrophobic would find herself face to face with Daevas’ pyromaniac, the child abuse victim would go to the orphaned twins, but she would go to Cindi. 

She’d befriended many of the others, knew their backstories, felt their pain. But right now, she couldn’t care less. Some screamed, some cried, not many left without protest. A few desperately tried to meet her eye, but she was busy. 

Thinking. Staring at her hands.

“Move.” Firm. Growl. Ugh. Boring.

She didn’t even resist, but then the shouting move and pushing you to your knees must be routine for them by now. She didn’t resist, but now she slumped. There was no point, they’d rough her up just the same. Cindi’d fuck with her head just as usual. So she waited until they dragged her.

Ender tumbled into the old private classroom and the door slammed open. Her hands were cuffed behind her back. 

Cindi almost sighed; how predictable.

“Go.” she commanded, spoken as if it were late in the night.

They hesitated and her gaze shot up, gaining the expected malice. They left.

Her eyes turned on Ender, still sprawled with her hands behind her back, almost entirely face down. She made no move to return the eye contact. “Well?”

“Hm?” Somehow, she’d slurred when she said it.

“Nothing? No plead, no challenges to my morality, no questions of my motivations? You’re just gonna lie there?” 

She shrugged, causing her limp body to jostle. “Nope. Just get it over with.”

Cindi smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Ya sure? I wouldn’t be in a hurry to endure this.”

Ender glanced up finally, taking in her towering form, ender’s own knife in her back pocket. Another shrug.


	2. A Development

*Three years later*

She inched closer, and I dimly registered a prickling spread over my abdomen, as if already anticipating her stabbing me in the gut. 

“Oh, cause you’re just  _ so smart,  _ and  _ so kind _ aren’t you? Never had a selfish thought in your life… is that what I’m supposed to believe?” Venom dripped from every syllable, but it wasn’t aimed at me. I compartmentalized ‘hatred of moral standards and purity’ as an issue of hers to analyse later. But seeing as the direct ‘why’s’ weren’t getting me anywhere…

“Nobody’s perfect. At least some of us are trying.” A little closer.

“Mhm, and where has  _ trying  _ ever gotten you?” A few inches more.

“Into more forgiving lifestyles than you, evidently.” 

And then it happened; Both hands grasped my shoulders, fingers and nails digging into the flesh. My whole body froze, waiting to see where she pain initiated, what I’d have left to fight her with. 

But that’s not what happened.

She grabbed my shoulders, and, a moment later, we were locking lips. She clutched at me with a claw-like gesture that I’m sure drew blood, and yet when she kissed me with the same intensity I melted rather than tensed. 

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. 

Oh well. If this is going to be the end of me, might as well enjoy it. I tilted my head back, inviting her to deepen the kiss. Which she did, unapologetically and so without hesitation I almost pulled back in surprise. Regrettably, my empty hands wandered. It wasn’t by much, just running fingertips over the suspiciously sticky lunch tables, but it was enough that she released her death grip on my stupid boney shoulders, in favour of trapping my frustratingly weak wrists behind my back. An unfortunate result of this is that we were now  _ much  _ closer. In fact so close, that along with our chests being firmly pressed against each others in a way I was trying very hard to ignore, I could feel her heartbeat, as annoyingly steady and calm as I would have expected… which meant she could feel mine. Shit. 

My breath caught as suddenly her tongue slid across my bottom lip. Now, while I didn’t get my reputation as a prude for nothing, some part of me just knew what that meant, and responded before I could stop it. My lips parted, and her tongue was inside my mouth before I even knew what happened. And goddamnit it should not have felt that damn  _ good.  _ She made a show of exploring every inch of it, before playing with the tip of my tongue.  _ Talk about having someone on the tip of your tongue much?  _ Again, - though, I don’t think i would have tried to stop this anyways… - as if she’d pressed a button that left me with no choice but to comply, my tongue wandered from the safety of behind my own lips and passed hers, where it was immediately entangled with Cindi’s. 

Moment’s later, she knocked my feet out from under me, shocking the breath out of me. In a matter of seconds she had us rearranged so I was pinned to a lunch table beneath her, arms now one-handedly secured above my head, with her legs between mine, pressed up against places I’d rather they weren’t. And that’s when the real assault began.

She tangled her free hand up in my hair, somehow pulling our faces even closer, and thrust her tongue down my throat, so if I’d been struggling to breathe before, catching my breath was officially impossible. But  _ oh, my, god. _ My traitorous body arched against her, every nerve standing on edge, every fibre of my being wanting more.

“Hey!” A teachers voice, calling out from the land of continued reality. “The bell went ages ago, back to class.” Cindi pulled back, and I felt as if my mouth vibrated with loneliness. She didn’t look at me, just stared after the teacher, cold and calculating. “You heard me.” He gave one last attempt, prompting her to make a show of stepping away from me, still looking at him. I did try to get up, but my head spun so much I had to settle for propping myself up on my elbows, trying not to look like I was panting. I vaguely wondered if this is what it feels like to be drunk. “Bloody teenagers…” He mumbled as he walked back into a different corridor; leaving me alone with a sociopath I’d just given too much power. 

She helped - or more like dragged - me up by the wrist, then put her hand uncomfortably tight around the side my neck to inspect my face. Still, cold and calculating. No smirk, no spark in her eyes. I had to wonder why she’d initiated what just happened. Didn’t dare ask though. She let her hand drop, pursing her lips and looking away.

“You got class to go to or som’thing?” Her voice was the quietest I’d ever heard it, and almost soft - if it weren’t for the grating edge she always gave it whenever she had to say anything that was vaguely nice.

“Nope. Free period.” I rocked on my heels. She bit her lip and shunted her eyes again, but it couldn’t be confused for a shy gesture. She was thinking, and with Cindi that didn’t tend to end well. “But I should go,” I added, trying to sound genuine. “Studying to do, and all that.” 

“Mhm.” She didn’t buy it. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I started walking towards the library, slow, seeing as my knees still wanted to give out. “Ender?” She called, I didn’t dare look back. 

“Hmm?”

Her footsteps echoed back towards me, and she  _ placed  _ her hands on my shoulders from behind, before planting a resolve melting kiss on my neck and sauntering backwards to wherever she was going. I think i stood there for a whole thirty seconds, fists clenched at my sides, trying to recover enough to face seeing my friends in the library.

In the end, I just walked home.


	3. A Break In Routine

When I woke up to her in my bedroom that night, I thought I was dreaming. Which to be fair, wasn’t too far fetched seeing as she woke me up from a dream of doing things with her that I’d never admit aloud to anyone, dream or not. So at first I wasn’t too worried, ‘till her trademark smirk worked its way back onto her face, and I saw the intelligent spark in her eyes, staring at me too close for comfort and she crouched beside my bed at eye level.  _ Then,  _ my instincts kicked in, and my hand shot out for the drawer, in sudden need of the comforts of a weapon. 

“Looking for something?” She cooed, tapping the flat side of my own knife against her nose mockingly. I started inching backwards, pulling the covers around myself, very much regretting the stupid tiny tank top I’d worn to bed. 

She successfully tutted at me, the only person I’d ever known to be able to do that well. 

“Now, now,” My stomach flipped as she stood, “that just wasn’t very dignified, was it? Besides, you just made it easier to do this.” She crawled onto the bed on her knees, stopping only when she’d managed to cave me in with them. As hard as I tried to control my breathing, it grew heavier, my eyes just stuck on the blade. Cindi and knives were never a good combination. 

“Hey,” She waved it in front of my face, then settled with it pointing to her eyes. “My eyes are up here you know!” A sound that was almost a giggle resonated through my tiny bedroom,  _ she was enjoying this.  _ She gave me a few seconds, as if to let me correct my gaze or make a comment, but I couldn’t. Experience said the moment I stopped looking at it would be the moment she’d use it, and I’d had quite enough of her catching me off-guard for a lifetime thank you. “Fine.” She sighed, “Let’s put this somewhere you can’t stare at it, yeah?” she thrust it under my chin, tilting my face to meet her gaze. “Better, right?” I could only offer a few panicked puffs in response. Another sigh, this one almost disappointed. “Are you gonna make me sit here all day threatening you or like, what.”

“What do you want?” The smirk renewed.

“See? We’re asking the right questions now.” She dragged the knife away then replaced it at the side of my neck, earning a whimper. “In truth? Entertainment. I’m bored.” 

“Th,” I cringed as my voice cut off, but I’d had one too many scars from Cindi to believe this position was an idle threat. And I was about to do the thing that always seemed to piss her off most - ask a ‘why’ question. “Then why aren’t you content to ‘sit and threaten me all night’?”

She threw her head back and sighed, then rightened herself and said, “You know how much I hate those questions,” The pressure on my neck increased, and another whimper escaped that I hoped was louder in my head than to her. “So I figured we’d turn it around for a night.” Her eyes bore into mine, seemingly searching for understanding. “But let’s face it, it’s no fun if you can’t  _ see  _ me uncover all of your deepest darkest secrets, so I had to have you awake.” The knife slid a little, just to keep me aware of it. My thoughts were already elsewhere, scanning for things she could find out from my room that would actually upset me, or even worse, give her an advantage. “Now, you tell me, where should I start?” I just glared back at her - though some far off part of me was just relieved she wasn’t making advances on me anymore. “I know,” She started, once more shifting the blade so she had better use of her other hand. “What  _ exactly  _ does Ender Alfaston sleep in, that causes her to build a spontaneous  _ blanket fort  _ to keep me from seeing?” Nevermind. She could barely keep the sing-song from her voice. She’d found a weakness. Absently, I pulled the blankets closer. “Don’t make me have to ruin these pretty little sheets of yours, Alfaston.” A stern edge had crept into her voice. “Let go.” She placed a hand on the edges, dipping her fingertips inside my makeshift safe-space. “Now.” The muscles in my arms tensed, but I just couldn’t. I knew if I did, she’d claim I was inviting her to look at me, and such talk would leave me a gasping idiot - not to mention very embarrassed. To my horror, she smiled and shook her head, Cindi body language for, ‘Fine, it’ll be more fun this way anyway.’ 

The tug on my hair registered before the fact that she’d grabbed it, and my chin was yanked into the air before I could fight back. The cool metal landed on the now exposed soft piece of flesh under my jaw, and my instincts flared like a forest fire, hands flying up to ward off the attack. Just what she’d been hoping for, and my protective layer was pulled away from me and dropped to the floor moments later. This, of course, didn’t stop her from taking full advantage of this new situation and getting me pinned with my back against the wall and my predictably pathed hands above my head where they couldn’t harm her. 

She let out a gleeful laugh. “Oh, come on! That was too easy~ Are you sure that wasn’t a token protest?” I made my best attempt at glaring at her, with my head still being tilted obnoxiously high. She eased up, letting my eyes return to levelling hers, then smirked.  _ Nope, no no no, nope no, nooo, please.  _ A series of pleads ran through my head, but I bit them down. It was stupid really, it’s not exactly like I was butt naked, but there are some levels of privacy, that one just likes to keep when it comes to one's mortal enemies. As expected, she took her damn time in trailing her eyes all over me, starting with my calloused and worn feet - from years of running from her - all the way up to my bra-less chest, where they lingered for much longer than necessary, then back up slowly over my neck and to my face. “There. Was that so hard.” 

I had a spontaneous and ill-advised urge to spit at her. “Whatever. What now?” Her eyes searched my face for a moment, and I realized she didn’t know. How unlike her.

The clank of metal hitting the hardwood floor registered before the absence of the knife did. Then she just sat there, staring at me, as if waiting for me to make the first move. Needless to say, I didn’t. I wasn’t dumb enough to attack her or smart enough to come up with another solution, so we just sat there, in silence, for about thirty seconds. 

“Yep, no, this is boring.” She dove for the knife.  _ Then,  _ I tackled her, sending us both crashing to the floor. Unfortunately, I will always be the weaker of the two of us, so she pinned me with no issue and only struggled a little retrieving the fallen weapon. “Ya feel better now, now that you’ve put up a bit of a fight?”

“ _ No. _ ” To my annoyance, she only grinned.  
“Daw~ is the little baby feelin’ embarrassed?” Suddenly our faces were inches apart, and I had flashbacks to the lunch hall yesterday. “Does she need a little encouragement?” The babyish tone continued, even as the edges of her fingertips slid under my top.

“No, no no no, she’s fine thank you,” Words tumbled out of my mouth, edged on panic as I lost the ability to meet her eyes. “You wanna fight? Let’s fight, just, don’t do… that.” I breathed the words, rather than spoke them. Yes, well done Ender, very convincing.

She only got closer. “You sure~?” She purred at me, and suddenly I wasn’t. Then she closed the gap, and all my sensible cautions were lost to the powers of her damned kiss. The whirlwind picked up just as we’d left it, our tongues intertwined faster than before, her restraining behaviour thrown to the wind and she wrapped one hand in my hair and kept the other threatening at the edge of my top. I  _ could  _ have pushed her off. I  _ should  _ have pushed her off. But, really? I didn’t want to. My hands remained uselessly where she’d left them, my head no longer able to think of anything other than how  _ good  _ the heat of her body felt radiating onto mine. 

Sooner than I’d have liked, she pulled back. She looked at me this time, dead in the eyes, and in hers, I saw lust. Wonder what she saw in mine.

“I repeat,” She whispered, her breath tickling my face, “Does the wittle one want some encouragement?” I couldn’t have answered her, even if I knew what to say. She sighed, and some new part of me felt ashamed, as if I’d disappointed someone it really looked up to. “Fine.” And in my dazed state, I didn’t even try to stop her as she tilted my face and started kissing my neck. But I should have. I really, really, should have. 

At first, I gasped. I could call it surprise if she wanted to use it against me. Then, there were small, almost whimpering sounds. Call that pain, seeing as her hand had snuck behind my top and she had begun digging her nails into my back. But as she reached the base of my neck, there was no mistaking the sounds coming from my mouth as those of pure pleasure. She kissed harder. My stupid back arched into her, pushing our bodies against each other, including my mostly unprotected chest - which I’d been so desperate to hide only minutes ago. She starting sucking, biting, hell anything just to get a reaction out of me. And a reaction she got. I sighed, I moaned, I cried out, and a whole other range of noises I’d never heard myself make before, but I  _ really  _ did not care. It felt amazing. Everything had gone fuzzy, and all I could feel were her lips on my neck and our bodies so close together. After god knows how long, she stopped.

She opened her mouth to speak, then paused, and pressed her lips to my cheek instead, showering kisses onto it for what felt like another full minute. Soon, I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Cindi,” I started, pushing my hands between us for the first time. Finally, she relented. “This is… frustratingly wonderful, but what the  _ fuck  _ are we doing?” She shook her head, in a way she often did when I failed to see her point.

“Doesn’t matter. Just go with it.” My scepticism must have shown. “Just this once. Worry about the consequences later.” She reached up and trailed her fingers over my lips, making them buzz with anticipation.

[To be continued, and it's NOT going where you think it's going >:(]


End file.
